Before My Eyes
by bombplaya3
Summary: The feel of fist against face was good. He sprawled on the sand, blood leaking from his face. "I'm sorry, Percy."
1. Chapter 1

**Before my eyes**

I stood at the beach, the waves crashing around my ankles. Yes, I let them get wet. I really just did not care at this point.

I should be happy. The war is over and I escaped with my life.

_But she didn't._

I was beyond feeling. Both physically and emotionally. There was too much red staining the water and the sand at my feet.

They say that right before you pass on, your whole life passes right before your eyes.

I don't know who first said that, (_she would know_) but they only got it half right. Your life doesn't just pass right before your eyes, but **people** do.

I gazed out over the ocean, letting a sense of detachment come over me.

But before I could, I felt someone brush against me as they came to stand next to me, soaking their feet in the waves.

I didn't look at Grover, but I knew that he knew what I had done, even before I had done it. Empathy links have their little perks.

We were silent for a long time.

"I'm gonna miss you." He said, simply, starting our talk.

I nodded. He knew what I was thinking, and he didn't need to hear that I would miss him too. Silence covered us again like a blanket.

"Tell her I said 'Hey'."

"Will do, G-man."

Another comfortable silence fell over us again. But soon it was time for him to go. We didn't embrace. We didn't shake hands or pound each other on the back, because our love for one another was deep. Yeah, it was a brotherly love, but we both knew that it was there, deep as the Atlantic that we were facing now.

The last thing he said before fading away into nothingness was,

"Tell me if they have enchiladas there."

As he departed, I felt a little more of my strength go with him.

Minutes later, I felt the earth shake and I knew that Tyson had chosen to come to me by the sound and vibrations of his footsteps.

"Big Brother! What you doing here?"

I looked into his one wide eye. It was bursting with concern and questions. I felt my heart break a little wider than it was already.

"I have to go…away…for a little bit."

His face brightened and rose, but my heart darkened and fell. I had just lied to my little brother.

"Ok! Come home soon!"

I turned back to the ocean.

"Ok, big guy."

But he wasn't there. He had disappeared just like Grover. He didn't say anything nostalgic or heartfelt, because he didn't know what was really happening. So, we hadn't need to say 'I love you' or anything like that. Our love was even more brotherly than that between Grover and me. We were brothers, and our love was a given; and understood fact. It swirled around us like some giant whirlpool.

As he left, my strength ebbed again.

But just as suddenly, Thalia and…Luke appeared by my sides; Thalia on my right and Luke on my left.

My left side was plunged into shadow as Thalia's silvery aura brightened my right side. Ironically, it all fit. Luke was on my left side; the side that had been plunged in shade, and at the same time, he himself was plunged into shade. Hmm, I must be so weak that My ADHD worked itself into overdrive.

Btu Thalia's voice brought me out of my trance.

"What do you think you're doing, Kelpface?!"

I chuckled at her name for me, but I found myself echoing what I told Tyson.

"I have to go away for a little bit."

She stayed quiet. She was smarter than Tyson so she knew it just wasn't for a little bit.

I looked at her sideways. Sensing that I was looking at her, she nodded.

"Tell her that I miss her."

Then she disappeared in a flash of light, leaving me behind with a murderer.

We stood there in silence, just looking out at the ocean.

"I know that you aren't really here, but its all your fault. You get that, right?"

He nodded. "I know." Was all he said, in a quiet, defeated-sounding voice.

"She would still be alive, you know."

Another nod. "I know."

You know I hate you, right?"

"I kn-"

But this time he didn't finish. I spun off my left foot, and swung a wicked right hook, aimed straight for his jaw. For a hallucination, his teeth fell out with a surprisingly satisfying feeling.

But I knew that he really was sorry for what happened. I mean, he didn't even try to defend himself. He even rolled away with my punch so that I wouldn't break my fist. Even so, the feel of fist against face felt good.

He sprawled on the sand, blood leaking from his mouth. His face hadn't changed from its defeated looking expression and it made me angry. Why didn't he scream at me, or yell at me, or even fight back?

"I'm sorry, Percy."

Just those three simple words, but I knew that he meant them.

I echoed him.

"I know. ...Now get the hell away from me."

He too disappeared into nothingness.

But Luke held no piece of my heart. I felt no ebb in strength as he left.

Rachel came to me next. This would be short.

Her red hair bounced as she put an arm around me. Could she not see that this was not the time? I didn't want her. I only wanted one; the only one that I could not have. At least not for a little longer.

"Percy…you don't need to go. You could stay here. With me."

I turned to look at her, not allowing any of my anger to leak out of my eyes.

"You were there, weren't you." It wasn't a question.

She bit her lip, and lowered and raised her head in the slightest way that she could.

"You could have saved her." Again, another statement, not a question.

She was silent, what was she supposed to say? But I was up in arms now.

"You could have saved her! But no! You couldn't have that. And you know why?"

Finally, a question.

"Because you're selfish! Beacause you couldn't bear the thought of me with another person. Were you jealous of my mom too?!"

She remained silent as I knew she would. She had no excuse; no defense.

I fumed there on the sand, a righteous anger filling my heart and my head.

But then she had the nerve to speak.

"Percy, you and I together…we can fix it."

I was reminded of Annabeth and her hubris, pride. Both were dead.

She could not fix this, no one could.

She took my silence as her dismissal. I felt every teardrop that fell from her eyes hit the sand, as if each grain was a part of me.

But I felt no pity. Rachel Elizabeth Dare had just been evicted from the place that was my heart.

Standing was now impossible. Too much blood from my wrists had painted the sand. I sat down in the waves, immediately getting soaked. The absence of pressure from my back and legs was bliss, perverted and out of place given the circumstances.

Poseidon and my mom walked to me from the ocean. They stopped though. There wasn't much time left for me. There would be no heartfelt reunion, no more tears hitting the sand. They knew that I would miss them.

I closed my eyes, but opened them quickly when I felt a hand on my shoulder and smelt the salty smell of the breeze increase.

My mom stared at me, eye to eye. No tears moistened her eyes. She knew Annabeth. She knew me. She knew that this would be for the best for us, but not necessarily for her. She was the opposite of Rachel. Completely selfless.

She kissed my forehead, and my father soon followed.

"Go get her, son."

I nodded and the left, hand in hand, so that my mom would actually reach her apartment.

My vision dimmed. My time was up, evident by Nico and his father's arrival.

They walked towards me. I felt an inkling of sorrow. Annabeth had not come to see me. Yes, she was gone, but so was Luke and he had made an effort to see me.

By now, Nico and Hades stood in front of me, looking down at me with identical obsidian, as I sat on the shore.

"Are you ready?" Nico asked.

I looked around at the seven pairs of footprints that lay around me, arranged in a semicircle.

I nodded weakly. Nico and Hades both took a hand and murmured. Nico; a prayer to his father, and Hades a blessing that would lead me directly to Elysium…and Annabeth. When they removed their hands, a drachma was in each.

Hades touched me once again, and I felt a surge of strength.

I turned to the ocean, and ran into the surf, water getting me soaked. I held out my arms and reveled as I felt the cool air hit the slashes to my wrists, inflicted by Annabeth's knife.

Her knife was stuck, blade first, in the sand by Nico's feet. He would give it to Chiron.

I dived under a wave, watching as my blood turned it a deep, vivid red.

The last thing I saw was a teasing glimpse of blonde hair, as I lost myself to the bliss of Elysium. It was right

_Before my eyes_

**A/N: I had an urge to write an angsty story. I enjoyed this one, as the idea came to me as I sat at my keyboard. Review!**

**Later....**

**So I have been getting some nice reviews, and it seems that people want me to continue the story. So my question is: Should I do a prequel, maybe tell how Annabeth died; how it was Luke's fault, and how RAchel could have saved her, or should the story continue once Percy gets to Elysium and is reunited with Annabeth? I'll set up a poll on my profile. Voting will close in a weeks time, from 6/09/09.**

**Thanks for all the reviews. Shoutout to Akatsuki Child and Moses J. Brentenmiere.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Alright, so the votes are in. And the result is...*drum roll* a sequel! Huzzah! But, guys, really? Percy and Annabeth have been done so many times before! *sigh* Alright, so here is the final addition to Before my eyes. Enjoy.**

**So, I originally had this all written down in one of my many spiral notebooks, but just never got around to typing it up. Well, then…I lost my notebook, so I'm leaving the chapter up to what I remember.**

**Anyways, enjoy.**

**And this chapter is called "For my Health"**

_**For my health**_

Elysium is boring. Yes, I said it. The haven of Heroes, where all of the Greek heroes go, is boring. Sure, they have the perfect life; it's always sunny, there's always something to do, people that you have known your whole life are suddenly back, alive and well- it should be the most heavenly place ever.

But of course, for me, it isn't.

Sure, in the beginning, I was thrilled to find out that I would be allowed into Elysium. I laughed and socialized with everyone, I took full opportunity of all the joy that came with Elysium. But, it didn't last as long as I hoped. Everything reminded me of Percy. EVERYTHING!

So, when I found out that there was a beach, I promised to stay as far away from it as possible. A watched pot never boils, right? Well, anxiously waiting for the day that Percy dies isn't going to bring him any closer to Elysium.

But eventually, Elysium lost all its charm. Soon, I was spending more and more time on the beach, just staring out at the perfect waters. The water was calm and clear, just like everything else in Elysium.

But my friends were worried. At first it was just concerned looks, shot at another friend and then at me. Then, excuses arose. "Annabeth! They just added a new amusement park! Let's go!" I always shook my head, preferring to spend the day as near to Percy as I could, even if he wasn't really there.

After that, other people came up to me with a stern expressions on their faces.

"Annabeth, you have to get on with your life. This isn't healthy, it just can't be good for you! Please, just come with me, let's go do something!"

Usually, they were pleading, and I watched them with a detached air, as if they were just pretty pictures floating and gesturing wildly in the air in front of me.

So, here I stood, once again on the beach, in the water. One could choose to get wet or not. I always let the water drip over me. I had given up long ago my promise to stay away. Now, I hardly left the beach, lest Percy die and be brought to Elysium in the five minutes it took for me to race to the bathroom and back.

But, strangely, I felt no sadness that Percy wasn't here. All that filled me was a deep longing, an ache somewhere deep in my chest. So this was heartache.

And that word was the trigger. Heartache. It raced around my head, expanding until it was the only thing that I could feel. It pushed aside all the other emotions.

Why wouldn't Percy hurry up and die already!? Sure, time moved differently in Elysium, but it still did nothing to dull the extreme impatience that I felt for Percy to kick the bucket.

So it was there, right there on the beach that I knelt down and I wept. I wept great tears that flowed down my face. They hit the sand and were quickly absorbed by the beach. Just another thing that Percy claimed as his that was originally mine. He had my heart. He had my emotions. Hell, he even had my iPOD, which he never did give back!

And then all the emotions that were pushed away by heartache rushed back with force. They filled me and I could only do one thing to rid myself of them. I raised my head towards the ocean, clear and calm, and screamed. I screamed and screamed and screamed and screamed. I tried to pour out everything in those high pitched lamentations. All my sorrow, my pain, my longing. I wanted nothing more than to go back to the indifferent look on life-or rather, afterlife-which I had adopted over the past few weeks.

Finally, when I felt I could scream no more, lest my windpipe collapse, I fell silent, finally achieving my stark indifference. I admitted it to myself right then. This isn't healthy. It can't be good for my health.

I sat back, and pulled my knees up to my chest. I buried my head into my knees, wondering what I could do to block all of this out.

I stayed like that for hours.. I'll never know what made me look up the way I did, but I'll never forget the next few minutes.

There was someone walking on the water. In Elysium, you could do a lot, but I'm sure that you can't walk on water. My Athenian mind quickened, and I raced through all the possibilities, each one more elaborate than the next. But the most plausible one was the first. Percy had finall-

"No. Stop it. Wishing like that won't help anything. It's not him, so just get over it."

With that thought, a new determination washed over me. I would leave this beach, and never return. I was serious this time.

I placed my hands on either side of me and stood up, deftly brushing the sand off of my jeans. I took careful care not to look up at the beach, scared of what I would see.

I made it all the way to the edge of the plastic sidewalk that marked the beginning of the beach before I turned around.

He was still far off, so far that he would have been completely underwater had he not been walking. My breath caught in my throat. He definitely had black hair. And that was enough for me.

I turned and walked back down to the shore, refusing to let excitement rule me. I took a very nonchalant pose as I looked out over the water, just a simple defense against my quickly arising anticipation.

Ten seconds. He walked ever closer, his black hair tantalizing.

Twenty seconds. His tanned skin became sharper, clearer to see.

Thirty seconds: An orange T-shirt bobbed along as it came closer to me.

I stopped counting then. I think I may have forgotten how.

It seemed like forever before his green eyes made direct contact with mine. He was still in the surf. Now, he let the water run over him, up to his calves.

I surprised myself. For all the pain and loneliness that I felt, I made no grand show of him finally appearing. I didn't run, jumping into his arms. I didn't break down crying. No, I did something much, much, MUCH better.

I stepped up close to him, and punched him in the shoulder.

"Took you long enough."

"Well, you know how slow a runner I am."

We laughed and abandoned ourselves to our emotions. I stepped in close.

He raised my head.

And I kissed him with all the passion that I could.

It was as if he had died, and I had spent the last few weeks mourning him. Yeah, like that could ever happen.

I let my emotions rule over me and I let instinct take over.

I snaked a hand under his shirt and rubbed on the small of his back. He tensed up as I touched the spot that bound him to the earth. To me.

I sighed and leaned into him, marveling at how I fit so perfectly to his body.

As I let myself fall into the bliss of Elysium, I mused to myself.

"Ok, so pining like that isn't healthy. So what? Percy is all I need for my health."

And then I jerked back into myself.

"Seaweed brain! Where's my iPOD!?"

And then we laughed, long and hard. Maybe Elysium isn't so boring after all.

**So, I hoped you liked it. It turned out vastly different from how I originally wrote it down. **


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